Oregon, 2003

Funnel Clouds in Oregon, April 30, 2003

April 30, 2003 · NWS PQR · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

The McMinnville News Register reported 3 funnel clouds. The time of occurrence was not reported.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PQR wrote it up.

The McMinnville News Register reported 3 funnel clouds. The time of occurrence was not reported.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Portland, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 30, 2:00 PM PST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 2:00 PM PST, 3 hours before
NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
300 PM PDT WED APR 30 2003

.SYNOPSIS...THE PESKY UPPER LOW WILL LINGER OVER THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST...BUT SLOWLY WEAKEN DURING THE COMING DAYS. ANOTHER LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL DROP SOUTHEAST INTO THE REGION OVER THE WEEKEND.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...VISIBLE SATELLITE SHOWING CONSIDERABLE CUMULUS CLOUD
COVER OVER DISTRICT WHICH MAY BE HOLDING BACK CONVECTION THIS
AFTERNOON...BUT STILL SHOULD BE SCATTERED DEVELOPMENT FOR LATE
AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH INLAND LI AT OR BELOW 0 WITH WEAKENING
REMNANT UPPER LOW AND COOL POCKET ALOFT OVER NORTHWEST OREGON. ONLY A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS REMAIN LATER TONIGHT AS AIR MASS STABILIZES.

GENERAL MODEL TREND IS TO FURTHER WEAKEN THE REMAINING UPPER LOW THU
WITH COOL AIR ALOFT REMAINING OVER THE AREA...BUT ANY MOVEMENT OF THE
LOW UNCERTAIN. MODELS SHOW INCREASED INSTABILITY THU BUT COUNTERED BY
SOME SUBSIDENCE WEST OF THE CASCADES AND DRYING OF THE AIR MASS.
STILL EXPECT A LOWERED CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND/OR TSTMS THU. BY FRI IT
BECOMES DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY ANY RESIDUAL LOW...WHILE WARMING IN MID
AND UPPER LEVELS AND INCREASED LOW LEVEL ONSHORE FLOW STABILIZES THE
AIR MASS. EXCEPTION AREA IS SOUTHEAST CORNER OF DISTRICT WHICH
BECOMES VULNERABLE TO NORTHERN FRINGE OF MOISTURE FROM NEXT UPPER LOW
MOVING INTO CA.

INCREASING CIRCULATION AND JET SEGMENT AROUND NEXT PACIFIC TROUGH
OVER SOUTHERN BC SPREADS INCREASING LIFT...MOISTURE AND DEVELOPING
SHOWERS SAT.

.LONG TERM...UPPER TROUGH CONTINUES UNSETTLED CONDITIONS SUN...BUT
EXTENDED MODELS KEEP THE TROUGH PROGRESSIVE AND MOVE IT EAST OF
FORECAST AREA MON ALTHOUGH RESIDUAL ONSHORE FLOW APPEARS TO CONTINUE
MON. GFS ALSO SHOWS A WEAK SHORTWAVE MON DESPITE SLOWLY BUILDING
UPPER HEIGHTS. WILL KEEP A CHANCE OF SHOWERS MON IN THE NORTH...THEN
CONTINUE DRY TUE AND WED. WILLIS

AST 322116  PDX 433116  SLE 433116  EUG 433115

.PQR...NONE.
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 30, 6:00 AM PST, 11 hours before
ORZ001>013-WAZ019>023-039-040-011430-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
600 AM PST WED APR 30 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST
WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO SKYWARN PROCEDURES

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 30, 1:18 PM PST, 3 hours 42 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
218 PM PDT WED APR 30 2003

TIME(PDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0645 PM    TIGARD                    OR   FUNNEL CLOUD
04/29/03   WASHINGTON                     PUBLIC REPORT WITH
                                          PHOTOGRAPH SW OF TIGARD

The radar

The Portland,OR radar (KRTX), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:57 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Funnel Cloud, Washington

When
April 30, 5:00 PM PST
Where
Washington County, Beaverton
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
45.560, -123.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Funnel Cloud, Yamhill

When
April 30, 5:00 PM PST
Where
Yamhill County, Mc Minnville
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
45.233, -123.308 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Funnel Cloud, Yamhill

When
April 30, 5:00 PM PST
Where
Yamhill County, Newberg
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
45.233, -123.308 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Oregon in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, April 2003

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5351729, 5351730, 5351731.